Land for Security

“Land is the only thing in the world that amounts to anything,” he shouted, his thick, short arms making wide gestures of indignation, “for ‘tis the only thing in this world that lasts, and don’t you be forgetting it! ‘Tis the only thing worth working for, worth fighting for—worth dying for.” - Gerald  O'Hara in the famous American classic Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell echoes the sentiment of millions of human beings,  from all parts of the world .

From times unknown man has invested on land as a saving. In India as in other countries after roti and kapada, makaan was the  priority for most people. As soon as a person settled in a job, he or she would start saving money to buy that piece of land on which he/she would build the dream house.  Earlier the middle classes struggled very hard to get that "Do Beegha Zameen" though it has become easier for the present generation to invest on real estate due to increased earning capacity. There are many stories, real life incidents and films about the troubles faced by the common man to achieve his dream of owning a land.  As Bharathiar, the Tamil poet said  "Kani nilam vendum –Parashakthi, Kani nilam vendum-angu,
                                                Thoonil azhagiyathai –nan madangal thuyya nirathinathai –antha,
                                                Kani nilathidaye –Or maligai katti thara vendum......"

Once the land was acquired time was spent in building up stage by stage. Very often the house could not be built until the person retired from service but he/she would feel happy that he at least had a piece of land - his/her main asset. To acquire this the family was even ready to sell their gold, eat less and fore go many pleasures of life during the youth. In their old age they retired to this piece of land to enjoy the golden years of old age with contentment that they were under their own roof. Land provides not only a sense of security but represents stability as if one has grown roots to stay in one place instead of wandering around like nomad. Gold and precious assets may be lost or stolen; banks may be robbed or go under; companies may fold up and lose our investments; houses and buildings may be destroyed but nothing can affect land - this is the belief that people had.

Contrary to this belief, in recent years, land grabbers and encroachers have been making away with even land from thousands nay lakhs of people all over the country -- whether it be in East, West, South or North. Everyday the news papers are full of these snatchers of dreams. Real Estate dealers, industrialists and sometimes even the Government under the guise of development or recovery steal away land leaving the common man with nothing except a broken heart and sometimes in the case of Government a paltry sum. Everyone has heard of the Land Mafia that operates in the major cities and towns of India with no one to oppose them or question their right. The police, the judiciary, the authorities and the local administration are helpless or pretend to be helpless in assisting the common man in his battle to retain his rights of property.

 Though Tolstoy may have made a case that man needs no more than six feet of land, one has to disagree with him - man's physical body may need only that but his psyche need more because that is the asset he can pass on safely to his inheritors!